Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff is the stew version of traditional Beef Stroganoff. An incredible slow cooked beef that’s fall-apart tender smothered in a creamy Stroganoff sauce with buttery garlic mushrooms, it’s made with economical stewing beef yet tastes like a million bucks!
Beef Stroganoff
You know that anything that involving the words “slow cooked” and “beef” is going to be a winner. And this one is a ripper!
It’s the slow cooked version of classic Beef Stroganoff. Besides the fact that it takes 8 hours in a slow cooker instead of 15 minutes on the stove, this stew version of Stroganoff differs from the traditional version in a few ways:
Fall apart tender chunks of beef rather than thin strips that are just cooked so they’re juicy inside;
Made with economical stewing beef rather than good to high quality well marbled steak (essential for a really great traditional Beef Stroganoff); and
Deeper flavour in the sauce – owing to the long cook time. You can’t shortcut this kind of flavour!
This slow cooked beef melts in your mouth and the depth of flavour in the sauce is magnificent!
What you need for Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Here’s what you need to make this incredible slow cooked beef dish! It’s the same ingredients as traditional Beef Stroganoff except using economical stewing beef and more sauce so the beef is submerged while slow cooking!
Use Chuck Beef or other economical stewing beef. Do not waste your money on pricier cuts like sirloin!
Best cut of beef for SLOW COOKER Beef Stroganoff
This recipe needs to be made with economical stewing cuts that need to be cooked for a long time to become tender, such as:
- chuck beef
- boneless beef ribs
- beef cheeks
- gravy beef
In contrast, traditional Beef Stroganoff, which is cooked quickly on the stove, is best made with pricier cuts suitable for cooking as steaks, such as boneless rib eye/scotch fillet and sirloin.
Just a few notes on some of the other ingredients:
Sour Cream – this is what makes Stroganoff Sauce creamy. It’s added at the end so there’s no risk of it splitting during the slow cooking time;
Dijon Mustard – for flavour and thickening, a traditional ingredient in Beef Stroganoff Sauce; and
Flour – thickens the sauce. See recipe notes for gluten free option!
How to make Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
This is pretty much made just like traditional Beef Stew – entirely hands off for most of the cook time!
Brown beef aggressively. The better the browning, the better the flavour in the sauce and on the beef!
Sauté the onion and garlic, mix in the flour;
Add everything into the slow cooker (or pot);
Slow cook 8 hours on low or 5 hours on high (see recipe for stove and IP/pressure cooker);
Sauté mushrooms in garlic and butter;
Whisk the sour cream with some of the liquid in the slow cooker – this will ensure you don’t end up with sour cream specks in the sauce (can’t mix vigorously otherwise the beef crumbles!);
Stir mushrooms and sour cream into sauce;
Serve over mash, pasta, egg noodles or even rice!
Here’s what it looks like straight out of the slow cooker.
And the beef…..fall apart….. juicy…..sucked up all the flavour of that Stroganoff Sauce…
I’ve made this as a stew but it could just as easily be transformed into a chunky soup with potatoes and vegetables. That way, it would also be a meal in one, rather than preparing noodles or mash to serve it over.
I’ve popped notes in the recipe for how to make it into a soup – you just add extra liquid to make the sauce slightly thinner which also increases volume so you can add more “stuff” into it. 😇
Otherwise, if you’re sticking with the Slow Cooked Beef Stroganoff Stew as written, serve it over one of these:
pasta or wide egg noodles (traditional);
mashed potato (also common for Stroganoff);
rice; or
low carb alternatives: Creamy Cauliflower Mash or Cauliflower Rice
Enjoy! – Nagi x
PS Also, for chicken lovers – > CHICKEN Stroganoff. Because I sauce this good can smother many things.
Watch how to make it
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Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1.75kg/ 3.5lb beef chuck or other stewing beef , cut in 4cm / 1.5” cube (Note 1)
- 1.5 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp oil
- 20 g/ 1 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 1 large onion , halved then sliced into 1 cm / 2/5″ slices
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 7 tbsp flour , plain / all purpose
- 4 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 litre / 1 quart beef stock/broth , reduced salt
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream , full fat best
Garlic Butter Mushrooms:
- 3 tbsp/ 45 g butter , unsalted
- 700 g / 1.2 lb mushrooms , sliced into 0.5cm thick slices
- 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
Serving:
- Pasta, wide egg noodles, mashed potato
- Chives for garnish
Instructions
- Season beef – Pat beef dry then sprinkle with all the salt and pepper.
- Brown beef – Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot or skillet* over high heat. Add beef in a single layer (not squished) and brown aggressively all over – 4 minutes or so. Remove and repeat with rest of beef, adding more oil as needed.
- Sauté aromatics – Let the pot cool down a bit then return to stove. Melt half the butter, then cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softened.
- Add flour – Sprinkle the flour across the surface, then stir. Add the mustard, and stir – it will look gluey, that's ok, it will dissolve.
- Add stock – While stirring, pour in about half the beef stock then mix so the flour mixture dissolves into the liquid. It will thicken quite quickly into a gravy-like consistency .Switch to a whisk if needed, to make it lump free. Then add remaining stock, stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot, and bring to simmer. Cook using chosen method below.
SLOW COOKING – choose method:
- Slow cooker: Transfer all liquid into slow cooker. Add beef, then slow cook 8 hours on LOW or 5 hours on HIGH.
- Stove: Add beef into pot. Cover with lid and adjust heat to low/medium low so the it's simmering gently. Simmer 2 hrs (check at 1.5 hrs) until beef beef falls apart easily.
- Instant pot: SKIP FLOUR, follow Note 5 Gluten Free option. 40 minutes on high, same method as slow cooker.
- Other pressure cookers: 40 minutes on high, same method as slow cooker.
GARLIC BUTTER MUSHROOMS:
- Melt half the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and cook until almost golden (~3 minutes). Add half the garlic, salt and pepper, cook until golden. Remove, repeat with remaining butter, mushrooms and garlic.
FINISHING STEW:
- Mix sour cream with 1.5 cups of liquid from slow cooker (Note 2), then gently stir into stew – careful, the beef is delicate!
- Gently stir in mushrooms.
- Serve over noodles, pasta or mashed potato, sprinkled with chives!
Recipe Notes:
- Chuck
- Boneless beef ribs*
- Gravy beef or other beef labelled as “stewing beef”
- Beef cheeks**
** If 200g/7oz or less, cook whole so it looks like this beef cheeks recipe but with Stroganoff Sauce. Chopped cheeks twist and skew once slow cooked – looks better to serve whole (or at most, halved). Other beef cuts ok to use – great for slow cooking but not as juicy all the way through as there are more lean patches:
- Brisket
- Blade roast
Nutrition Information:
Stew Fever!
For fellow lovers of slow cooked goodness, rich sauces and fall apart meat…
Life of Dozer
Furniture shopping with Dozer – he certainly made himself at home!! 🤣
Hi when do I add the garlic mushrooms into the slow cooker with the beef?? After the 8 hours?
Hi Rita, you add them at the end under the “finishing the stew” steps. N x
Hi Nagi,
It seems a little unclear- so after 8 hours: add mushrooms, but how long does this stay in for?
Your chicken stroganoff is a regular in our house- delicious!
Hi Nagi, I just ordered meat pack and got an enorms ppiece of rump steak in it. If I wanted to use this, what should I be careful of, or any alternatives for this?
Hi Natalie, you could use rump here – just cut into chunks as per the recipe & enjoy 🙂 N x
I have limited freezer space. How would it work if I halved the recipe?
Hi Jen, you can definitely halve it! Enjoy!! N x
Hi Nagi! Thanks for the recipe, it was delicious! I cooked it on the “meat” settin me of my pressure cooker for 30min but the base was completely burnt! The meat was still not very tender unfortunately. Any idea how I can improve?
Hi Jing, sorry you had issues with your pressure cooker – I usually just use the manual pressure cook setting and have no issues with burning. N x
It was a hit, used very economical beef and it worked great.
That’s great to know Peter, thanks so much! N x
I made this last night. I have pretty much exclusively made your recipes the last couple months, but this one is especially noteworthy! Served it with mashed potatoes and it was excellent!
I’m so glad you loved it Michael! N x
I cooked this on the stove and it turned out ridiculously thick and started burning and the bottom. It looked nothing like your video. Why does your other stroganoff recipe only require 2tbs for 500ml stock and this one has 7tbs of flour for 1 litre? It seems like a bit much. Perhaps I’ll make it with less flour next time. I’m just curious as to why it didn’t happen to anyone else.
Hi An, sorry you had issues here, this recipe is quite a bit larger in quantity that my regular beef stroganoff, hence the reason for more flour. Maybe you had the heat up too high and it reduced too far? Was it covered during cooking? N x
Hi Nagi, when I added the flour and mustard it became very lumpy and gluggy. I followed the recipe to a tee! Any suggestions? Unfortunately so far it doesnt look anything like your video, almost seems like too much flour.
Hi Stacey – did you use a 15ml tablespoon (was it only 60g of flour). Are you able to whisk the flour in to get rid of the lumps in the stock? N x
I made this on the stove top with chuck steak and it delicious. Nagi – can you freeze this meal with the sour cream? I’ve tried a few of your recipes now and have enjoyed them all, thank you 😊
Hi Jillsy, you sure can, I speak about this in note 6 🙂
Hi Nagi, if I’m using the Slowcooker on Low for 8 hours when do I put the sour cream in? Thanks
Hi Alicia, follow the directions and cook for 8 hours, then proceed to the “finishing stew” step. Enjoy!! N x
I just made this last night. IT-IS-A-KEEPER!! Straight forward recipe that came out delicious!! I attempted to finish the cooking in my InstaPot, but I think my sauce was just thick enough to not be able to cook in there. I got the ‘burn’ indicator. So I just transferred to a pot and it was perfectly fine. The flavors are amazing. I cannot wait to have my lunch today!!
Definite repeat dish to share with friends next time.
Hi Tina! I’ve had a couple of people say that this triggered the burn sensor in the IP, I’m going to amend the instructions to eliminate the chances of this happening. I’m glad you were able to figure a way round it – and that you enjoyed it! N x
This recipe, like so many of Nagi’s others, is amazing. My family loved this dish, and they’re looking forward to have the leftovers tomorrow.
That’s great Cheryl! N x
Oh my Nagi, you have out done yourself! As you know, I cook for my 84 yr old neighbour and his 60 year old son every Saturday night. This was on the menu last night, served with mash, plus steamed veg, and they sang major praises and heaps of thanks! He asked, what type of steak was that love? He doesn’t understand the concept of slow cooked, even though I explained. Lol. Major hit with them, as well as hubby and myself. And heaps left over. Thanks again for another success. Kate xx
I’m so happy it was a hit, that’s awesome Kate!! N x
Ps, they think I am a gourmet chef hahaha! All you. Also, I cooked this on the stove, it was so tender. Xx
I recently cooked this slow cooker stroganoff recipe……yum, yum what a hit and definitely a keeper. Delicious with plenty of flavour.
When will you produce a recipe book I can purchase?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lana – and I do have one on the cards 🙂 N x
So good! I made this on the stove and then served in the next day. Reheated well and flavour was awesome!
Perfect Mia!!
Followed the directions exactly this slow cooked beef stroganoff was spectacular. My family loved every bite. We served it on rice. Side note, since my daughter has Celiac we did have to make it gluten free. We saw your note to use corn starch slurry which is not necessary if you have gluten free flour on hand. We simply put in 7 Tablespoons of a all purpose gluten free flour we use all the time. It does not change flavor or texture in any way!! Thank you for yet another fantastic recipe!!
That’s great to know, thanks so much for the info!! N x
Nagi,
Are those chives you sprinkled on at the end of the slow cooker process?
Sure is Mary 🙂
Amazing flavor! Super easy! A must try!
Thanks so much Nael! N x
I made this for my wife and I as my first attempt using a slow cooker.
Cheap Chump steak, and divide everything by 4, then fingers crossed!
No need to worry, it was amazing.
Super tender and juicy, incredible flavour and so easy (even on L plates)
Thanks Nagi for your feedback re the stock.
Definitely making this one again.
I’m so glad it worked out for you Tony, great work!! 🙌
This was glorious! The meat is so tender that it literally falls apart and the ingredients can be found in pretty much any pantry and fridge.
Thanks, my family loved it.
That’s great to hear Zee, I’m so happy it was a hit! N x